Russian farmers, the world's most prolific wheat producers, are pivoting away from the crop to more profitable ones after a year of significant losses due to extreme weather events.
What's happening?
According to a report from Malay Mail, Russian farmers have decided to plant less wheat and focus more on peas, lentils, and sunflowers after a year of catastrophic losses and low prices drove the profit margin close to zero.
Russia's wheat crop production dropped to 83 million tons in 2024 after sitting at 92.8 million tons in 2023 and a record 104.2 million tons in 2022. Frosts and drought that killed significant portions of the crops were to blame, as were massive rains during harvesting season that made getting the wheat out of the ground almost impossible.
Add falling wheat prices around the globe, and farmers have started pivoting to other crops in an effort to make a profit.
"The profitability of grain crops is approaching zero," said Dmitry Garnov, CEO of Rostagro Group, which owns massive swaths of farmland in rural Russia. "The company has reduced the volume of winter wheat sowing by 30 per cent. There are two drivers now — soybeans and sunflower."
Why is crop loss important?
Climate-related crop loss is increasing around the world. As weather patterns shift and change due to our warming planet and weather events such as droughts and massive storms become more common, crops that thrived in one place are much tougher to farm now.
A massive country such as Russia deciding to pivot away from its primary crop may be a canary in the coal mine, a harbinger of what could be coming globally.
Additionally, crop loss at this level could impact the price of flour, bread, and other wheat-based products. While it's unlikely to create scarcity at this point, if trends continue in the direction they're headed, that could change.
What's being done about crop loss?
Russian farmers are abandoning wheat in favor of more profitable crops with less risk, including soybeans, sunflowers, and lentils.
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Not enough time ⏳ More broadly, scientists are working on ways to make crops more resilient in the face of our swiftly shifting weather patterns.
Shorter corn stalks help the plant stand in the face of high winds from storms. Researchers have found a gene that can help crops become more flood-resistant, which is incredibly useful as rain becomes less predictable and more severe. Scientists have also found a gene that can help plants become hardier and more efficient at photosynthesis.
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